


Potboiler

by hlravensnest_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Raven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-12-31
Updated: 2000-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-16 22:15:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11838090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlravensnest_archivist/pseuds/hlravensnest_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atHL Raven's Nest. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onHL Raven's Nest's collection profile.





	Potboiler

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HL Raven's Nest](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HL_Raven%27s_Nest). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HL Raven's Nest's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hlravensnest/profile).

Potboiler by RSS

**_Potboiler_**

  
By RSS   
  
---  
  
Amanda and Nick are in a small, nearly empty theater attending the play _Perseus._ The play has spectacular special effects, and as with most such plays this one could do with fewer special effects, a better script, and some credible acting. The critics panned this play. The only reason Amanda and Nick are here is because Amanda got two free tickets in the mail from an anonymous sender. She senses there's another Immortal in the building. Amanda knew the free tickets could be a prelude to a challenge, despite which, she couldn't control her curiosity. Amanda also realizes if another Immortal wants to meet her, for whatever reason, that Immortal will meet her. There's no reason to put off the inevitable. So here she sits watching this play with a half-baked script and insufferable acting. 

The curtain opens. There's a woman, an Immortal, lying on a bed on her side with her head resting on a large pillow. A toga covers her body and her wig looks like a bunch of rubber snakes. She has a ton of makeup on her face, the intent to make her look hideous, which it does. It also makes her unrecognizable. 

A tall, muscular man with blonde hair and a loin cloth steps backwards onto the stage. He has a bronze colored sword in one hand and a shield in the other. It's as if he were using the shield's reflection as a mirror. There is the sound of distant thunder. He walks next to the woman. The woman rolls onto her back and opens her eyes and screams. Then the man swings his sword at the woman's neck. The woman's scream abruptly ends and a head rolls off the pillow. A woman in the audience lets out a short scream. It would make for a good magician's trick. It looked like an actual decapitation. The thunder gets louder as the man walks over to the head and picks up the head, holding it high. The thunder builds to a crescendo and a burst of lightning flashes appear on the stage. 

Amanda thinks, "A bit part in a lousy production." Then she smiles in recognition. The playbill didn't credit Medusa's role. Amanda has no doubt who played the part, Ann Montgomery. Amanda remembers the last time she saw Ann. 

* * *

**Rome, 1965**

Amanda strolls the streets on a bright summer day. She received an anonymous telegram to meet someone for lunch. Amanda assumes it isn't an enemy; they usually give direct challenges. She wonders if it's an old friend or a new admirer. 

As she approaches the meeting place she notices a camera and a crowd of people. Then she sees Ann in the distance. They are filming a movie or TV show. Ann is wearing pants on the bottom and next to nothing on top. It looks like a scarf that loops around the back of her neck and covers her essentials. She's holding a gun on a man and says some words to him. Then the man moves his head as if he's looking behind her. She turns her head then the man charges her. There's a brief half-hearted struggle then the sound of a gunshot. Ann holds her midriff with one hand. Then she drops her gun and both hands cover her midriff. She takes a couple of half steps, then drops to her knees and slowly falls on her face. Such dramatics went out with the silent films. 

The director stops the filming and goes over to Ann and the other actor. The director does some overacting of his own using a series of wild hand gestures. They end with him blowing a kiss to the sky. The actors take their places. This time Ann lets out a muffled scream when she's "shot." She adds groans to her death scene and takes longer to die. The director looks pleased. Then the cast and crew break for lunch. 

Ann puts on a robe and walks over to Amanda and they exchange greetings. Then Ann asks, "What do you think of my big scene?" 

Amanda smiles. "I was most impressed with how you kept from exposing yourself." 

Ann shakes her body. "It's a combination of breath control and tape." 

Ann changes, then takes Amanda to lunch at a nearby cafe. After lunch they walk around. Feeling the presence of another Immortal, they quicken their pace and walk to a secluded area. Then they turn to face the other Immortal, Amanda drawing her sword. Ann doesn't draw hers. There's no reason; Amanda is by far the superior fighter. A man rounds a corner and draws his sword. The man is of medium height and build and has the map of Italy on his face. 

"I have no fight with you. Ann, she's the one I want." 

"She's my friend, if you want her you have a fight with me." 

"She swindled me! I want my money or her head!" 

Ann shouts from behind Amanda. "Luigi, I didn't swindle you! It was a business investment, there are no guarantees in this business!" 

"That's not what you said when you took my money!" 

"That's business! You should have known that!" 

"I'm through talking! I'm coming over there! You get out of my way or I'll kill you too!" Luigi advances on the two women. Ann steps back and Amanda goes on the attack. Amanda and Luigi parry for a while. Luigi is a good fencer, so Amanda decides to try something that isn't in the fencing handbook. She backs herself close to a wall and quickly turns steps on the wall and does a somersault. Landing on her feet behind Luigi, she throws him against the wall and puts her sword to the back of his neck. 

"When you take a risk sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. You lost, I won. Would you like me to collect my winnings?" 

"No! Please!" 

"Drop your sword." 

"Sure!" Luigi drops his sword. Amanda picks up his sword and throws it away. Then she spins Luigi around. 

"You owe me your head. You stay away from Ann or I'll collect, understand?" 

"Yes, I understand!" 

"Take your sword and get out of here." Luigi runs to his sword, picks it up, and continues running. 

Ann has a big smile on her face. "Thanks, Amanda, you really taught him a lesson!" 

"What did I almost kill somebody over?" 

"A producer friend of mine needed some money to produce a movie. So I talked Luigi into investing in the movie." 

"The movie flopped and he lost his investment?" 

"That's right." 

"Did you know he was such a sore loser?" 

"I didn't think about it. I was so sure the movie would be a success." 

"What was the name of the movie?" 

_"The Spider Woman with the Red Belly."_

"Did he know he was investing in a monster movie?" 

"Not exactly." 

"Not exactly?" 

"I told him it was a movie that was set in the American West." 

"So he thought it was a Western?" 

"Yes, most people don't understand the Western is a dying genre. Science Fiction, that's the wave of the future." Amanda realizes Ann's judgment hasn't improved with age. 

* * *

**Present Time**

After the performance Amanda and Nick wait outside the backstage door. Ann comes out and meets them. She has bright red lipstick and a big smile, her green eyes matching her long green bangs. The rest of her hair is short and dark blue. 

"Amanda! So good to see you darling! Who's this?" 

"I'm Nick Wolf." 

"Love your 'do darling." Amanda commented 

"You should rethink yours. It's so twentieth century." 

"I guess I'm just the old fashioned type." 

"Do you have reservations to any place?" 

"No, we weren't sure what to expect." 

"Well, I know this really exciting place. Let's go, I'm absolutely famished!"   
  
After they eat Ann invites them over to her place for some coffee. Nick seems very happy to be around Ann. Amanda figures Nick finds Ann's kooky nature amusing. 

When they step inside Ann turns on her coffee maker. She comes from the kitchen with a small hammer and a picture hanger. Then she reaches into her handbag and takes out a picture in a frame. The picture is of the man who played Perseus. She walks to a large nook where many pictures hang on the opposite walls of the nook. Ann looks at Nick and points to one wall. 

"This is my 'A' list." 

"Your 'A' list?" 

"Yes, decapitations here. Other deaths there." 

"All these?" 

"Uh huh." 

"It would seem to me an Immortal would avoid these kind of parts." 

"It's my way of facing up to my fear." 

Ann nails in the picture hanger. Then she hangs the picture. Amanda looks at the pictures on her 'A' list wall. She figures Vincent Price is probably the only actor Nick would recognize. Amanda knew Vincent Price. Unlike the villains he often played Vincent Price was a very nice man. Amanda looks on the opposite wall. She wonders if Nick would recognize the most famous, infamous, of these actors, John Wilkes Booth. 

* * *

**Washginton, D.C., April 15, 1865**

It's early evening. Last night's events still trouble Amanda. She doesn't know why it should bother her. She should be used to such events by now. She cynically says to herself, "America has come of age. They have had a civil war and they now have a leader who has been assassinated." She doesn't know why she decided to come to this mud hole. 

There she was last night watching "Our American Cousin." She, and everyone else in the audience, was enjoying a funny soliloquy. Then someone jumps on the stage, holds up a bloody knife, and says something incomprehensible. He had just shot President Lincoln. Some say he said, "The South is avenged." Others claim he said, _"Sic Semper Tyrannus",_ "Thus Always to Tyrants", the motto of the State of Virginia. The President's condition was hopeless. Some men carried him across the street where there was a bed. All anyone could do was make his last few hours as comfortable as possible. He died in the early morning hours. 

Amanda senses an Immortal. "That's all I need!" She grabs her sword. Then she hears a knock on the door. Amanda positions her sword so she can immediately put it at the throat of whoever it is. 

She flings the door open and puts it at the visitor's throat. Amanda sees a scared Ann Montgomery, a relatively new Immortal she had met a few days ago. Her first death was in 1848 at the hands of her beau. Amanda points her sword down. "Come in." 

"Amanda, you frightened me!" 

"Sorry, but a lady can't be too careful." 

"I understand. You've got to help me! I don't know where else to turn!" 

"What's wrong?" 

"The man who killed the President, John Wilkes Booth, I know him!" 

"So does everyone in this city from what I understand." 

"We were in a few plays together. Our relationship was not just professional." 

"Did you have anything to do with the assassination?" 

"No, no, I swear it!" Ann takes a deliberate glance at Amanda's sword. Then she looks directly into Amanda's eyes. "On my head, I swear it." 

Amanda believes Ann. "Where was your loyalty?" 

"I didn't talk much about it, but my loyalty was, is, to the Republic." 

"Then you have nothing to hide." 

"Do you think that matters? The President has been murdered; the man who did it got away! Anyone who had anything to do with him is in trouble!" 

Amanda sits and motions Ann to do the same. Then she takes Ann's hand. "Ann, you look young and pretty. One thing I have learned over the years is a pretty face and a smile or some tears can get you out of a lot of trouble. In this case it's tears. Go to the authorities, tell the truth, and cry a lot. It's your best chance." 

"What if it doesn't work?" 

"Then I'll think of something else." 

* * *

**Present Time**

Amanda didn't have to think of anything else. One colonel, who was probably younger than Ann, had even given her some fatherly advice about watching out for scoundrels. Ann found Amanda a few more times over the years. In every case Ann was in some kind of trouble. Amanda wonders if Ann is in trouble again.   
  
The next day Ann calls Amanda and invites her to lunch, meeting at a small cafe a couple blocks from The Sanctuary. Ann talks about her career and Amanda talks about her business. The play will close in a couple of days. After lunch they walk back to The Sanctuary and the conversation turns to Nick. "Nick, you and him are?" 

"I'm his teacher, sometimes partner." 

"So he's available?" 

"He's not your type." 

"Oh, I don't know. I like to diversify." 

Amanda finds the idea amusing. Nick and Ann are two exact opposites. Before she completes the picture in her head Amanda notices a dark sedan pull up quickly next to them. Two large men jump out of the car; one grabs Ann and the other tries to pull a gun on Amanda. 

She kicks the gun out of the thug's hand before he can point it at her, following up with a one-two punch. Ann is holding her own with her opponent when another man from the car tries to grab Ann. Amanda attacks one of Ann's attackers, and soon has him doubled over in pain. Ann inflicts some pain on her attacker. The car starts rolling and the three men scurry into the car. Once they are all in the car it speeds off. 

Ann folds her arms. "That'll teach them to accost defenseless women." 

Amanda reflexively smiles but then turns serious - Ann is in trouble again. Amanda's clothes are none the worse for wear. Ann didn't get off so easily, she lost a couple of buttons on her blouse. "Let's get off the street." 

They walk quickly to The Sanctuary. Nick meets them as the come through the door. "Hi!" Nick seems confused. He isn't sure if Ann got into some trouble or if she is making a fashion statement. 

Ann looks at her clothes. "They ought to do something about the crime here. It's so a woman can't walk the streets in broad daylight." 

"Ann! Why don't you tell us what kind of trouble you're in?" 

"Amanda, I was going to tell you. I just couldn't bring myself to. I didn't want you to get the idea the only reason I looked you up was to get me out of a jam." 

Amanda knows that's the only reason Ann ever comes looking for her. Amanda decides not to say anything about it. "Ann, just tell me what happened." 

"It's not my fault! I didn't do anything wrong! It's Vasco." 

"Vasco!" 

Ann gives a quick nod. Nick looks at the two women. "Who's Vasco?" he asked. 

Vasco is the last person anyone wants after them. Amanda can't contain her anger. "You're dead! There's no way around it! You're dead!" Amanda puts her finger tips beneath Ann's chin. "Alas poor Ann! I knew her Nick!" 

"Amanda that's not funny!" 

"Who's Vasco?" 

Amanda starts pacing. "Vasco runs a casino in Monte Carlo. The casino is on holy ground. The only time he ever comes off is to collect on bad debts." 

"He's good?" 

"Who knows? He doesn't play the game. He runs the casino, he does some loan sharking, some fencing, and a number of other things to increase his wealth. When an Immortal screws him he has some goons take the Immortal and leaves them tied up somewhere. Then Vasco shows up and the goons leave. A short time later there is one less Immortal." 

"How many goons?" 

"As many as he needs. There were four this time. If they don't grab her they will soon have some friends. You're dead!" 

"Amanda stop saying that! It's not my fault!" 

Nick tries to calm the situation. "Why don't you tell us what happened?" 

"It was a business deal. A producer friend of mine." 

"A man?" 

"Yes, his name is Dave Jackson." 

Amanda figures Dave Jackson is probably an alias. She quips, "It figures." 

"He needed some backing for a movie. Amanda, it's not what you think! He had a script. It was a good one. He needed money to produce the picture. Vasco read the script, he liked it! He even had some notes on it." 

Nick prompts, "So what went wrong?" 

"Dave set up a bunch of dummy companies. He paid these dummy companies with Vasco's and his other backers' money. The day filming was supposed to start he disappeared." 

Nick asks in an accusatory tone, "How much did you know about this?" 

"Nothing! I swear it! I lost a lot of my own money in the scam." 

"Did you try telling this to Vasco?" 

"When you're around for a couple of centuries you get used to scams. Vasco told me if it turned out to be a scam my next role would be in Hamlet, as Yorick." 

"Look, I work for a security firm. I'm sure we can find this guy." 

Amanda knows Nick is an excellent investigator. She also knows even with his talent he probably couldn't find this guy in time to save Ann's head. Amanda considers the situation. Vasco won't stop until his people bring Ann to him. With a virtually unlimited budget Vasco will probably find Ann before Nick finds this Dave Jackson. If Ann were mortal they could fake her death, buying some time. 

Ann continues. "He's probably on the other end of the world by now. Or maybe he's sailing around the world with the money he stole. I spent what I had left to buy that play you saw. I thought it would be a hit. I figured I could give it to Vasco plus some money I could borrow and maybe he'd let me live. At least give me some more time to pay him the balance." 

Amanda figures it's probably a lot of money. Almost certainly more money than she could get in a day or two. 

"How much money are we talking about?" 

"A hundred million Francs. Amanda don't say I'm dead again! I know he's going to kill me." 

Amanda puts on a devilish grin. "Not if someone else kills you first." 

"Amanda you're not even trying!" 

"You're little production. With a little work it could make a convincing Quickening to someone who doesn't know about Quickenings." 

"What do you mean?" 

"A couple of mortals see you lose your head. The light show could scare them off. They describe what they witnessed to Vasco. He'll assume someone beat him to it." 

"Amanda you're a genius!" 

"Vasco will have them describe the Immortal who killed you. He knows me and knows you're my friend. He would suspect something." 

Nick gives Amanda that "I'm elected" look. "Yes, I'll do it."   
  
Amanda, Nick, and Ann spend the whole night setting up the studio for this scam. The next morning Ann, in running attire, runs from her apartment past the theater then circles back again. Amanda and Nick watch from the theater's roof. The first time around Amanda sees nothing suspicious. Then as Ann begins her second lap Amanda notices a dark sedan following her. She sees a couple of figures inside the car. Amanda turns to Nick. "It looks like this is it." 

Nick takes another look with his binoculars. "Yea, they might as well have a sign on the top of their car that says, 'crime in progress'." 

"Good help is so hard to find these days." 

Nick steps inside the building. When Ann is within sprinting distance of the theater she slows almost to a stop. Then she takes a long look at the car and dashes for the theater, the car accelerating after her. Amanda rushes inside the building when she's convinced Ann will make it inside. 

Amanda watches the security cameras, seeing Ann make it inside the front door. Seconds later the car pulls up and three men jump out. One of them has a bandage on his nose, obviously a souvenir from yesterday. As the men step inside she turns on a red light inside her controller's booth. This is the signal that it's "show time." 

Ann lets out a series of blood curdling screams. Then her screams abruptly end. Seconds later Amanda hears the sound of something plop on the floor. Amanda starts working her magic. She presses two buttons. An illuminated mist starts rising from Ann's body, looking as if she's headless. Nick picks up Ann's false head and holds it and his sword above his head. Two more buttons and flashing lights "strike" Nick's sword and Ann's false head. The thunder sound effects gives it the feel of lightning strikes. Amanda methodically goes down her console, starts the blowers, then more lightning strikes. This time it's a series of electrical sparks and timed explosions. These effects start out in the front seats then work their way to the back rows. Amanda is relieved and elated as she sees the three hoods dash out the front door. Her elation turns to loud laughter as she sees them jump into the car and one of the thugs waves his hands furiously for the driver to go. Amanda cues the final effect, sparks around the outside of the building. The driver gets the message and speeds off.   
  
**Epilogue**

Amanda and Nick are in Ann's new flat in London. They are having their afternoon tea. "Thank you both for everything!" 

Nick quips, "I just hope it worked." 

Amanda reassures them both, "I'm sure it did! I'm just sorry I couldn't be there when they explained to Vasco what happened." 

They chuckle. Then Amanda reaches into her handbag and hands Ann a picture frame. "Thank you. Another one for my 'A' list." 

It's a picture of Nick. Ann shows it to Nick. Then she walks over to her 'A' list wall. 

"You should have told me Amanda. That's not my best side." 

Ann turns to Nick and says with a wink, "Nick, you don't have a bad side." 

**THE END**

* * *

© 2000   
Please send comments to the author! 

[General Disclaimers](http://astele.co.uk/DaireRavensNest/Chapter/Details/disclaimer.html) apply. 

Background from [Graphics by Daire](http://www.crosswinds.net/~daire/graphics/), you can find this one and many more there. 

* * *


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